Norman Lewis 1985

Benny Andrews painted this portrait of Norman Lewis. Look how the artist applied the black paint, so thick on the suit jacket, but leaving it open to areas of bare canvas, creating the impression of light. The painting shimmers. I love to imagine what Benny Andrews was thinking as he was making this. Was he listening to music, or was he chatting? What was the light like in the room? Was it day or night? The painting has a cool but subtle feel to it. The colour palette is pared back – black, white, grey. It reminds me of Philip Guston, but it also reminds me of Romare Bearden. That hand holding the cigarette is amazing, the way the artist painted the smoke as a thin white line. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, they are all looking at each other’s work, riffing off one another, trying things out. It's just so human.